ORPHAN, n. A living person whom death has deprived of the power of filial ingratitude . . .
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the complex nature of familial relationships and the concept of gratitude.
Ambrose Bierce's definition of an orphan highlights a cynical view on how people often take their family relationships for granted. It suggests that the absence of a parent may strip away not only the traditional expectations of familial love and care but also the burdensome expectations of ingratitude that can exist within those relationships. This plays on the irony of how loss can sometimes yield a clearer perspective on the dynamics of love and gratitude.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the challenges faced by orphans in society.
PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
The United States is no more a Christian nation because most of its citizens are Christians than it is a 'white' nation because most of its citizens are white. We are Americans because we practice democracy and believe in republican government, not because we practice revealed religion and believe in Bible-based government.
Character is the only secure foundation of the state.
Be noble minded! Our own heart, and not other men's opinions of us, forms our true honor.
True penitence condemns to silence. What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat.
Freedom granted only when it is known beforehand that its effects will be beneficial is not freedom.
A means can be justified only by its end. But the end in its turn needs to be justified.
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